Congupna Bushland Reserve Environmental Management Plan
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DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY INDUSTRIES Congupna Bushland Reserve Environmental Management Plan This project is funded as part of the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority Regional Catchment Strategy in the Shepparton Irrigation Region and is provided with support and funding from the Australian Government and Victorian Government though the National Action Plan for salinity and water quality and the Natural Heritage Trust. This project is delivered primarily through partnerships between the Department of Primary Industries, Goulburn- Murray Water, Department of Sustainability and Environment, the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority and other bodies. Published by: Department of Primary Industries Private Bag 1, Ferguson Rd, Tatura, Victoria, Australia September 2005 © The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries 2005 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Authorised by: Victorian Government 1 Treasury Place Melbourne, Victoria 3000 Australia. Printed by DPI, Tatura. ISBN 1 74146 676 8 Disclaimer: This publication may be of assistance to you, but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequences, which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. For more information about DPI visit the website at www.dpi.vic.gov.au or call the Customer Service Centre on 136 186. Cover photographs Congupna Bushland Reserve, entrance (main photo) Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius) (inset) Gold-dust Wattle (Acacia acinacea) (inset) Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) (inset) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Plan could not have been developed without the help and assistance of numerous people. To all the members of the Congupna – Tallygaroopna Landcare Group thank you for your interest in the Congupna Bushland Reserve and its on-going management. For assisting with the development of this Plan, the following people are gratefully acknowledged: John Edwards, Carolyn Edwards and David Doyle. In particular we wish to the Goulburn Valley Irrigation Services for surveying the Reserve and developing a site plan. Departmental staff who have provided a great deal of support and input into this Plan include Bruce Wehner (Parks Victoria), Rolf Weber (NRE), Dustin Lavery (former NRE), Malissa Walsh (former NRE) Marion Howell (former NRE). In particular we wish to acknowledge the efforts of Trudi Mullett, and Ann Roberts who have worked hard to put this plan together. Finally we wish to acknowledge the support and funding provided by the SIR Implementation Committee of the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, in particular, Ken Sampson, for his patience and commitment to this project. To all of the people who provided comment on the draft we are extremely grateful. The final thank you goes to Kate Brunt who wrote this management plan but relocated before all parties approved this plan. ACRONYMS CTLCG Congupna Tallygaroopna Landcare Group DNRE Department of Natural Resources and Environment, former government department that included activities of DPI and DSE. DPI Department of Primary Industries DSE Department of Sustainability and Environment EMP Environmental Management Program, work group within the Catchment and Agricultural Section of Department of Primary Industries. GBCMA Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority SIR Shepparton Irrigation Region SIRCS Shepparton Irrigation Region Catchment Strategy SIRIC Shepparton Irrigation Region Implementation Committee PV Parks Victoria ii FOREWORD This Management Plan is the culmination of the effort of a number of dedicated people who share the vision of seeing Congupna Bushland Reserve remain as a viable and productive woodland ecosystem. It is intended that the Plan will further foster the partnerships between the relevant stakeholders. It identifies the key stakeholders, including Government and non-government organisations who accept the management responsibilities assigned to them through the actions defined in the Management Plan. The Plan has been developed as an adaptive management plan to enable management actions to be modified in response to the monitoring of the key biodiversity values. Therefore all works and actions which may impact on the implementation of the Plan will only be carried out after consultation / approval from the identified key stakeholders and signatories to the Plan. While implementation of the Plan is an adaptive process, the Plan will be formally reviewed when necessary to ensure that it remains a ‘living’ document. The review process will also be subject to consultation with, and sign off by, the identified key stakeholders. The implementation of this Management Plan will be a prime model for partnerships in sustainable ecological management in the Goulburn Broken Catchment. iii Table of Content MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT ......................................................................................................... I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................................................II ACRONYMS .........................................................................................................................................II FOREWORD ....................................................................................................................................... III 1 SUMMARY .........................................................................................................................................6 2 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................................7 2.1 PURPOSE........................................................................................................................................7 2.2 CONSULTATION PROCESS ..............................................................................................................7 2.3 PLAN PERIOD AND REVIEW ............................................................................................................8 2.4 LOCATION AND ACCESS ................................................................................................................8 2.5 RESERVATION STATUS AND MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY..............................................................10 2.6 CONGUPNA-TALLYGAROOPNA LANDCARE GROUP ......................................................................10 2.7 LEGISLATION................................................................................................................................10 2.8 STRATEGIES AND POLICIES...........................................................................................................11 3 ECOLOGICAL VALUES.................................................................................................................13 3.1 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESERVE IN A REGIONAL CONTEXT...........................................................13 3.2 PHYSICAL ASPECTS......................................................................................................................14 3.2.1 Climate.................................................................................................................................14 3.2.3. Flooding Regimes and Drainage Characteristics ..............................................................15 3.3 BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS..................................................................................................................16 3.3.1 Flora ....................................................................................................................................16 3.3.2. Landscape context...............................................................................................................18 3.4 FAUNA.........................................................................................................................................18 4 MANAGEMENT ISSUES ...............................................................................................................19 4.1 RESERVATION STATUS AND MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY..............................................................19 4.2 POTENTIAL CHANGES TO RESERVATION STATUS AND MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY......................19 4.2.1 Investigation into Box-Ironbark Forests and Woodlands....................................................19 4.2.2 Native Title Application .......................................................................................................19 4.3 CURRENT LAND USE....................................................................................................................19 4.3.1 Recreation............................................................................................................................20 4.3.2 Trail Bike Riding..................................................................................................................20 4.3.3 Grazing and Soil Disturbance .............................................................................................20 4.3.4 Fire Wood Collection...........................................................................................................21 4.3.5 Dumping of Rubbish and Garden Waste .............................................................................21